Hidden Lauri Markkanen secret proves Jazz will put NBA on notice next season

Lauri Markkanen isn't really much of a secret weapon for the Utah Jazz. Everyone has seen how good he is, and how good the Jazz will be when they take off the ball and chain off him next season. What many don't know is that Markkanen's defensive abilities should make the Jazz a two-way powerhouse next season.

The Jazz's well-documented terrible defense is bound to improve with the returns of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler next season. Anyone who has watched them knows their pedigrees as defenders.

Markkanen doesn't get the same notoriety, and to be fair, he's not particularly flashy, but statistics show he is not only not bad on that side of the floor, but more than that, a positive. As it turns out, the Jazz's defense has actually been noticeably better when he is on the floor.

The Jazz will trot out a jumbo-sized lineup of Markkanen, JJJ, Kessler, Ace Bailey, and Keyonte George when they start next season. Markkanen will slot over to the small forward spot - something he did in Cleveland four years ago and thrived - where he should be a matchup problem.

No one is saying he's the elite defender that Jackson or Kessler is, but he could make Utah even more terrifying next season on that end if he can transition smoothly as a wing.

Teams will take Utah seriously if their defense improves

There's a solid chance that Kessler and Jackson together will make the Jazz's defense above-average by themselves, but they are only two players, and they can't play all 48 minutes. Markkanen holding his own on that end will go a long way in making the Jazz all the harder to score on.

And it can't be just him. Utah will ask more from the likes of Keyonte George and Ace Bailey for them to take it to a whole new level. Unless they suffer legitimate injuries, expectations for the Jazz will skyrocket, and they live up to them if everyone does their part.

The downfall of the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era was that the Jazz failed to surround them with two-way players. At first, it was the offense that dragged them down. By the end, it was the defense. With two-way players at their disposal, Utah could go further than they ever did with Mitchell and Gobert.

But it will all depend on how committed everyone is on that end of the floor. We know what JJJ and Kessler can do, and that's part of why the Jazz should be exciting next season, but it will take everyone else to make Utah a legitimate contender.

Indications are that Markkanen will do his, and if others follow suit, the league should be very afraid.